Hello! I’m looking to build my first fightstick (case, at least + artwork). I’m not entirely a beginner when it comes to fighting games as my favourite was mk but I decided to move to a “real man’s game”. I do have a fightstick (Hori Mini 4, kinda small and can’t rest my hand on it when I grip the joystick) but I’ve decided to move on from it, it has a problem registering forward-backward movement.
Of course the transition from pad to controller was hard and I started playing fighters again (took a break) and I’m dropping inputs with my current stick and doing better with an XB1 controller (playing PC, steady 60 fps).
That’s the whole build, want to know if it’s compatible. I just found out about joystick throws and that they’re not the same. I’m not sure if I should spend $36 more to buy a Sanwa JLF or use the Seimitsu in my list. I get that it’s to personal preference, but I’m looking to do intermediate-advanced combos more (can do most of the beginner combos). Bought a $12 PCB cause I’m looking to get a Cronus Max later.
Regarding the joysticks it’s really hard for me to do double qcb’s/qcf’s with my current Hori Mini 4 joystick. Akuma player mostly and looking to get an octagonal restrictor/gate.
I’ve got many colours cause I want my artwork to be like Wario-Waluigi-Yoshi and the orange button is for L2, might be playing MK sooner or later. (Don’t need L1 cause pressing X+A on stick is much easier.)
Your parts selection is fine; there’s very little in terms of standalone parts that isn’t compatible with everything else. EDIT See the next two comments below.
Sanwa/Seimitsu, up to preference. I don’t know where you’re getting the “$36” extra; Sanwa JLFs and Seimitsu LS-32s cost should just around the same (give or take a dollar or two). JLFs are more of the “standard”, but people use whatever they feel is best for their style. Neither will really give you an advantage over the other for doing “intermediate-advanced combos”.
Cronus Max is generally not recommended here; they’ve had their issues (physically causing problems on USB ports) and (some versions?) allow for macros which disqualifies them from tournaments. Brook Converters are the way to go.
Most around here will recommend the stock square gates over an octogonal one. Most (myself included) will consider the octogonal gate to be more of a “learning crutch”; it initially “feels” more intuitive (especially with characters that are QCF-heavy), but tends to encourage bad habits (riding the gate hard).
Might want to double check the wires you’re getting with that Zero Delay PCB - I don’t think they will be compatible with the joystick you’ve selected.
Thanks for the reply and the help! I guess that Seimitsu would work with my current PCB and this comes square by default right? Gotta put more work in the training when it comes to Hadouken, DP and half circle movements.
Regarding the price I didn’t know the Sanwa’s they were selling for $60 were actually silent and not regular Sanwa’s (didn’t check). Then again, between those 2, one last question, what would you recommend? I’m ok at SFV and don’t know if I should go for something with a more forgiving lever and sacrifice speed or go with the Seimitsu or go Sanwa + Kowal actuators?
Sorry if I’m pissing you off cause I’m a big newcomer to fighting stick community.
I personally use all Seimitsu parts (both stick and buttons) myself, but for people relatively new to stick parts and modding, I generally recommend them going all-Sanwa to start off with. They’re by no means “better” or “worse” than anything else, but because they’re the “standard”, it’s generally the best place to start off, and adjust from there.
Don’t worry about it, nothing of that sort.
You’ve done nothing except ask politely for advice. Keep that up and we’ll all be glad to help out.
You have a really good point - especially because this is my own fighting stick and I could change everything if I wanted to. Then again, is the Kowal Oversize Actuator worth buying or just stick to default for a while and see if I wanna switch to a different lever made by a different company?
@gahrling I’m trying to make my own arcade stick, not from a shoe box though (would like it to be a little bit smaller than Hori RAP 4’s but not as small as the Mayflash F300’s).
Then you may run into issues mounting the joystick as the LS-32-01 doesn’t come with a flat mounting plate (unlike the regular LS-32 version). Bear this in mind so you can plan ahead because there are several ways to go about this… just depends on the case you make.
Personally I think the LS-32 series feels bad because of the way the shaft ‘pops’ when the actuator is pressed against the gate, and the construction quality is lower compared to their other models. My own joystick preferences are:
Seimitsu LS-55-01 (small) or LS-40-01 (large)
Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT (I prefer the SK versions as they come with a shaft cover, but this is optional).
Don’t worry about getting things like a new actuator or gate for now. Perhaps consider it as a future investment.
I’ve settled on a Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT, thanks for the tips regarding actuators or gates, going to use stock. I’ll make a rectangular case (without round corners), probably out of light wood or what ever I’ll find. I have full Sanwa at the moment and I don’t care much about the PCB not being universal (don’t want to spend $95 or whatever it’s selling for on FA). Wish Brook still made PS3/PS4 to 360 converters, have SFII Turbo on a Capcom game bundle I received when I was younger.
Apparently the Zero Delay PCB has two variants: American Style Controls and Japan Style Controls and I notice no difference except the Japan Style having 3 cables in the thumbnail instead of 2. Any idea on what I should choose between those two? (FA doesn’t offer much info regarding the connector types used on my Sanwa buttons but I’d take a guess and say they use .110’’ connectors, making them compatible with the board that I chose - Japanese Controls.)
At the end of the day I would take anything that offers good performance, that makes 100% of my inputs register and has no big delay that would make me drop combos/lose fights sometimes.
You’ll want the Japan style controls if you’re using Sanwa parts.
The American style controls has different sized connectors for the buttons (0.187" vs 0.110", and the joystick connections are different (0.187" connectors instead of the standard 5-pin connector).
nah that was a mistake on my part and forgot to update the cart after all the changes, saw they were 24 mm instead of 30, and im not really a big fan of 24 after having thrown my mini 4 away.
didn’t really pay enough attention when making it but double-checked, i wanted purple and orange to be 30 but i picked 24 by accident; there weren’t enough 30mm purples so im changing artwork or going simple + black buttons.
@mikeohara
the only fighting game I’ve got on the PS4 is MKXL and not willing to get SFV as I have already bought it on PC, would like to say my PC can handle most of the big titles in the fighting game category.
